Why a strong data foundation is critical for ServiceNow customers

Many Norwegian mid-market companies are reaching a turning point in their ServiceNow journey. They know the platform can automate work and simplify complex processes but turning it into measurable business value can prove harder than expected. In many cases, the problem is not the platform itself. The real challenge is the underlying fragmented operational data.

“Disconnected tools, spreadsheets and scattered ownership-models are still common in many organisations,” says Markus Labråten, CTO at Sofigate Norway. “This quickly creates problems when trying to automate processes or connect systems across the business.”

For mid-market organisations, the impact is particularly visible. Smaller teams depend heavily on automation to keep operations running smoothly. When the underlying data is inconsistent, it becomes a blocker.

Centralising data quality

Every workflow, automated process and AI capability depends on reliable operational data. In many ServiceNow environments, the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) becomes the operational backbone connecting systems, services and ownership-data across the organisation.

“If you can’t work with the data, you’re going to struggle working with the modules,” Labråten says. “Everything depends on the quality of the data.”

According to him, organisations often approach data reactively. Information gets updated only when something fails instead of being managed as part of a structured operational model. The result is unclear ownership and disconnected processes.

That is why we at Sofigate encourage customers to take a “data first” approach from the beginning.

Visibility enables proactivity

Better visibility across systems also helps organisations respond to incidents and manage risk more effectively.

Labråten describes a customer environment with thousands of systems and multiple service owners. On paper, ownership existed, but the organisation still struggled when incidents occurred. If a server failed, the service desk only discovered the impact after customers started calling.

Once dependencies between applications, servers and services were mapped inside the CMDB, the situation changed significantly. Rather than reacting after the fact, the service desk could immediately see which applications would be affected and prepare for incoming incidents.

“The whole operation shifted from reactive to proactive,” he says.

Resolution times dropped by roughly 60 to 70 per cent, while ticket volumes fell from around 1,000 to closer to 300. Customer communication also improved because support teams understood the root cause before handling requests. For lean operational teams, this made a major difference.

Understanding your own ecosystem

Operational relationships are still often underestimated. “You need to know your own ecosystem. That means understanding how systems, services, ownership and dependencies connect together.”

This goes far beyond IT operations. Every organisation depends on critical assets, whether those are people, products, suppliers or infrastructure. Without a connected overview, it becomes much harder to understand how disruptions and changes affect the enterprise.

The challenge grows over time as departments introduce separate systems. Eventually, organisations lose track of the bigger picture.

Simplifying complex environments

The benefits are not limited to incident management alone. Labråten points to another example where multiple disconnected systems created unnecessary complexity.

The organisation originally maintained eight separate portals running on different technologies. Upgrades were slow, taking up to three months to complete. By consolidating the systems into ServiceNow, the organisation reduced upgrade timelines from three months to roughly six days.

The portals themselves remained familiar to customers, but behind the scenes the work was a lot more seamless and simplistic, due to a common operational model, as well as only taking one technology/platform into account.

Starting with the right priorities

Building a stronger operational foundation starts with a few practical priorities. Clear ownership around data is essential. Someone must be responsible for maintaining the quality and structure of the information inside the platform.

Automating discovery processes also helps to reduce manual work and human error while improving consistency across systems. Rather than trying to map the entire organisation at once, organisations should start with business-critical services. Standardised frameworks can then help structure and scale the environment over time.

Technology alone is not enough

Successful ServiceNow adoption depends as much on Organizational Change Management (OCM) as the technology itself. Too often, it is approached primarily as a technical implementation project. At Sofigate, the focus is on helping customers adopt new ways of working rather than simply installing a platform.

“You can build a strong technical solution, but if people do not understand how to use it, the value never materialises,” Labråten points out.

It becomes especially important in mid-market environments where teams often manage several responsibilities simultaneously and operational efficiency directly affects business performance.

“A good data foundation is no longer optional. It’s the engine powering every future capability.”